Everton Youth Teams Thread

You look at Morgan Rogers who has just gone to Villa too.
City didn't really want him and went to boro for next to nothing, 6 months on Villa are paying almost £10m for him!

Southampton hoovered a fair few up due too Jason Wilcox's relationship with City.......and made a nice profit off Lavia!

You need to be careful and not go over board though, before you know it your team ends up like a Zat wet dream and you have a bunch of kids with no senior players to offer them direction (Southampton, Leeds last year)
That was far more down to the people in charge than the players, Saints have made some bad manager appointments in recent years and Leeds also. If you want to go with a more youthful approach then you need the right person who can develop them and teach them on the job in a match day situation. That was never going to be Nathan Jones and Bielsa's style of play was just a little too kamikaze for the PL imo albeit he is clearly good with younger players.
 
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Halid Djankpata playing for Italy U19 against Austria.
That’s great for Djankpata, although we’ve used him as an attacker/out wide in his early years he looks very comfortable playing midfield at 8 alongside Jenson Metcalfe. Still only 18 and about where you’d expect him to be in terms of development. I looked at an article on him and apparently he chose us over City and the RS. Our OS says he joined us at 14. Here’s some bits , including positive comments on our set up , and on Paul Tait from a few years ago. Who’d have thought it eh!

Representing Italy: A Dream Come True​

Djankpata's call-up to the Italian U19 National Team is a significant milestone in his career. He expresses his excitement about representing his country, stating, "It's an honor to wear the Italian jersey. I've always felt a strong connection to my Italian roots, and to represent my country at this level is a dream come true."

As Djankpata prepares to make his debut against Austria, he reflects on his journey so far. "Joining Everton was the best decision I could have made," he says. "They offered me a project that was tailored to my development, and I believe I have a real chance of breaking into senior football here."


Djankpata's story serves as an inspiring tale for young footballers. His decision to join Everton, driven by their history and the project they offered him, has propelled his career forward. As he continues to make strides in the world of football, Djankpata's journey is a reminder of the importance of finding the right fit for one's development.

Key Points:

  • Everton youth team midfielder Halid Djankpata chose Everton over Liverpool and Manchester City in 2021.
  • Djankpata was attracted to Everton's history and felt their project was suitable for his development.
  • He has since become a key player in the youth team and earned a call-up to the Italian U19 National Team.
  • Djankpata transitioned from an attacker to a midfielder, drawing inspiration from Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba.


This was when he was 16.
jankpata’s development in 2021 suffered a setback when he injured his medial collateral ligament, resulting in a five-month spell on the sidelines.While the recovery process was difficult for the 16-year-old Italian, he thanked Tait for checking in on him on a regular basis and explained how he is eager to repay his manager with performances on the pitch.“It was a tough time [when I was out injured], but I just had to keep working hard to come back stronger,” Djankpata told evertonfc.com.“I did a lot of work in the gym and with our physios over the summer to eventually be able to get back on grass to do sprints.“It was a bit lonely at times because you’re doing a lot of work away from the team by yourself.“Paul was really good with me through that period, though.“He would come in regularly and ask how I was feeling and where I was with my recovery process.“The fact he wants to learn about your personal life, as well help you on the pitch, makes you feel wanted.“It just made me want to work harder to get back in the team and for Paul.”

He believes his all-round qualities have come on leaps and bounds under Tait’s tutelage.

“Paul is a great coach,” said Djankpata, who is comfortable operating as a central midfielder or on either flank.

“He gives you good advice on your positioning, style of play, and he’s a genuinely nice person as well.

“The attacking side of my game has improved a lot since I started working with Paul.

“That extra bit of time he spends with you on a personal level just makes you want to work harder for him.

“If he is taking that time out for you off the pitch, I want to make sure I’m repaying him on it.
 

Pretty much yeah, wingers by there own nature are inconsistent, they rely on team mates and style of play to perform properly
Each to their own on that, I preferred a winger like Aaron Lennon who grafted and worked for the team for the whole game, he wasn’t particularly liked by many Everton fans but he was a team player working for the team not just himself, Sheedy and Trevor Stevens were the same but they played in a great team were they all worked for each other. To make it plain I’m not saying Lennon was in the same bracket as those two.
 
That’s great for Djankpata, although we’ve used him as an attacker/out wide in his early years he looks very comfortable playing midfield at 8 alongside Jenson Metcalfe. Still only 18 and about where you’d expect him to be in terms of development. I looked at an article on him and apparently he chose us over City and the RS. Our OS says he joined us at 14. Here’s some bits , including positive comments on our set up , and on Paul Tait from a few years ago. Who’d have thought it eh!

Representing Italy: A Dream Come True​

Djankpata's call-up to the Italian U19 National Team is a significant milestone in his career. He expresses his excitement about representing his country, stating, "It's an honor to wear the Italian jersey. I've always felt a strong connection to my Italian roots, and to represent my country at this level is a dream come true."

As Djankpata prepares to make his debut against Austria, he reflects on his journey so far. "Joining Everton was the best decision I could have made," he says. "They offered me a project that was tailored to my development, and I believe I have a real chance of breaking into senior football here."


Djankpata's story serves as an inspiring tale for young footballers. His decision to join Everton, driven by their history and the project they offered him, has propelled his career forward. As he continues to make strides in the world of football, Djankpata's journey is a reminder of the importance of finding the right fit for one's development.

Key Points:

  • Everton youth team midfielder Halid Djankpata chose Everton over Liverpool and Manchester City in 2021.
  • Djankpata was attracted to Everton's history and felt their project was suitable for his development.
  • He has since become a key player in the youth team and earned a call-up to the Italian U19 National Team.
  • Djankpata transitioned from an attacker to a midfielder, drawing inspiration from Andrea Pirlo and Paul Pogba.


This was when he was 16.
jankpata’s development in 2021 suffered a setback when he injured his medial collateral ligament, resulting in a five-month spell on the sidelines.While the recovery process was difficult for the 16-year-old Italian, he thanked Tait for checking in on him on a regular basis and explained how he is eager to repay his manager with performances on the pitch.“It was a tough time [when I was out injured], but I just had to keep working hard to come back stronger,” Djankpata told evertonfc.com.“I did a lot of work in the gym and with our physios over the summer to eventually be able to get back on grass to do sprints.“It was a bit lonely at times because you’re doing a lot of work away from the team by yourself.“Paul was really good with me through that period, though.“He would come in regularly and ask how I was feeling and where I was with my recovery process.“The fact he wants to learn about your personal life, as well help you on the pitch, makes you feel wanted.“It just made me want to work harder to get back in the team and for Paul.”

He believes his all-round qualities have come on leaps and bounds under Tait’s tutelage.

“Paul is a great coach,” said Djankpata, who is comfortable operating as a central midfielder or on either flank.

“He gives you good advice on your positioning, style of play, and he’s a genuinely nice person as well.

“The attacking side of my game has improved a lot since I started working with Paul.

“That extra bit of time he spends with you on a personal level just makes you want to work harder for him.

“If he is taking that time out for you off the pitch, I want to make sure I’m repaying him on it.

Quality that
 
For the last 2 weeks the official website video of training has shown Jensen Metcalfe with the first-team. In last week's video he looked the best player on the training pitch. If we could get ourselves into a position of being 3 or more goals up with 15-20 minutes to go then I think he may be given a chance. Hold on, what am I thinking of ? – we don't score 3 goals in a month.
 
Hearing a lot about Metcalfe and Djankpata but not seen much of either personally.

Anyone seen them and care to comment on how good they are, how good they can be?
 


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